National Hansen's Disease Sanatorium "Nagashima Aiseien" More than 1800 corpse anatomical records

It was found that more than 1800 bodies were dissected at "Nagashima Aiseien" at the National Hansen's Disease Sanatorium in Okayama Prefecture.

Records have been confirmed that the bodies of residents were dissected at national Hansen's disease sanatoriums nationwide, and experts said, "The government will take the initiative in verifying the specific purpose of dissection at sanatoriums nationwide. We need to proceed. "

The fact of the dissection was newly revealed at Nagashima Aiseien, a national Hansen's disease sanatorium in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture.

In the garden, there are 32 volumes of "anatomical records" that describe the results of corpse dissection of residents, and during the 25 years from 1958 to 1956, when the garden was established, It was revealed that the bodies of 1834 residents had been dissected.

Of these, until 1945, more than 97% of the deceased residents were dissected, and consent to dissection was obtained from another resident other than the resident about a week before the resident died. It means that the case was also confirmed.

Noriyoshi Yamamoto, director of Nagashima Aiseien, told NHK that "Given that the anatomical records were kept in great detail, there was no idea that we wanted to help the development of medicine and save the residents. On the other hand, regarding how to obtain consent, he said, "While the rules at that time are not clear, it remains doubtful whether it was the appropriate method."

Last year, a survey of sanatoriums revealed that the dissection of bodies at the National Hansen's Disease Sanatorium was conducted at a sanatorium in Kumamoto prefecture, targeting at least 389 people. NHK's interview revealed that more than 1193 people had been dissected.

Professor Emeritus Hirofumi Uchida of Kyushu University, who is familiar with the problem of Hansen's disease, said, "It is possible that the anatomy was normalized and the anatomy was actually forcibly performed in the unique environment of a sanatorium. Needs to take the lead in conducting investigations and verifications at sanatoriums nationwide. "